has it been fdisk'd or formatted?

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hi guys, i think that solution is simple, just use madboot, and install windows to solve the problem but im not not 100% confident of that for some reason but here comes my situation;

my colleague has got a laptop, some1 gave it to him as a "gift".

start the machine, "missing operating system"
when i stuck my mem pen in to see if linux would work, it said

there is no active drive set (this is the part where i think someone has fdisk'd it)

but there is no floppy, and i got the win98 boot disk on floppy...

so i was thinking, when they buy an os, would the answer be, just install it from there, format using the cd...

or

is there actually no partition on the drive? ...and if so would the course of action be

burn the system disk on cd (it would boot, wouldn't it?) -> fdisk, repartition, make it active, and install win?

 

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Think that you're answering your own question there Cheek!

 

Can you not copy the win98 boot file onto your memory stick and boot from that?

 

Are you wanting to install XP or Win98? If XP, or Win2k or Win2k3 then *don't* use the win98 stuff - boot from the CD and go from there.

Harry.

 

i tried that had got this error -
hard disk boot sector invalid, or no active partition
press h to retry hard disk and any other key for floppy

i checked the BIOS and boot from USB mass storage device was checked [x].

im not sure... i am been waiting for the person to go and get it, their not even sure what os they will be getting - more likely xp home.

btw: why not use the win98 stuff? i wont be converting it into NTFS.

 

Because Win98 tools can't handle the majority of today's hard disks correctly. And using it is pointless as XP includes it's own versions of the tools during install that *do* handle such drives.

IMHO I would always use NTFS rather than FAT32 - it is more reliable, particularly when machines are shut-down incorrectly.

Harry.

 

I haven't formatted a drive in a while and i always dot FAT32 for home and NTFS for business, unless they request NTFS... the reason for that, is home users normally kill their computer and at least i can access the drive in DOS, but i remember having this conversation before but cannot remember the outcome... or where it is, plus i dont know where the FDISK util is in XP, i.e. upon installation, i never noticed it anywhere...

 

To access a drive with NTFS when the machine won't boot use BartPE. Or a Linux Live disk - but IMHO BartPE is better.

When you start the installation of XP first lots of stuff loads, then finally it will tell you about the disks present. You have the option of adding partitions, deleteing partitions etc. This is the 'fdisk' equivalent - it just isn't called that!

You can even drop out of the installation after you have 'fdisked' and formatted without going further in the installation.

Harry.

 

let me get this straight... say if there is no partition on the drive, when i knock in the xp disk then, that part will create a partition aswell? ...have i been doing this the long way round?

 

Yup! <giggle>

Harry.

 

creating a partition, deleting a parting, is all functions of FDISK, so why did it not click!

btw: Thanks Harry for your advice!

 

In your defence, I can say that very many 'experts' I meet don't seem to be aware of this either....

Harry.

 

Here CM this will hell walk you though it using the xp cd. you want the link at the top called
How to partition and format your hard disk by using the Windows XP Setup program
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=313348

 

I believe it is called an *el torido* device. This means XP can boot and install itself on a computer with nothing at all on including no operating system...

 

when did MS go all multi lingual, cuz el torido sounds mexico to mean, actually sounds like the Antionio Bandaras film, one before Desperdo...

 

<Cough> El Torito. See here .
(Named after a restaurant chain.)

Allows a CD to boot.

Harry.

 

Just like Del boys French

 

They speak Spanish in Mexico Cheek .

 

this may help

gives you evey boot disk out there

from doss 6.22 upto xp pro

 

hmmm, i never knew that, i guess that will go into the section of my brain of useless crap!

Thanks Baba!